


♡︎ amor- a natsuri story

by tokifukawa



Category: Doki Doki Literature Club! (Visual Novel), ddlc
Genre: Child Abuse, Everyone Is Gay, F/F, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Gay Awakening, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Lesbians, Light Angst, Natsuri - Freeform, Self-Harm, Slow Burn, Support, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Useless Lesbians, maybe smut, monika is normal, natsukixyuri - Freeform, no MC, papa is a bitch, sorry for all the tags
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-06
Updated: 2020-04-12
Packaged: 2021-03-01 05:27:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 18,171
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23439928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tokifukawa/pseuds/tokifukawa
Summary: If you told Natsuki in the past that she'd be at a fancy party for a fancy rich persons daughter, she would probably laugh in your face. But here she was, at a fancy party for a fancy rich persons daughter. She didn't even know anyone here, besides papa, but she hadn't seen him for an hour. And now, just as she was thinking her night couldn't get any worse, a beautiful stranger knocked into and turned her life upside down.
Relationships: Monika/Sayori (Doki Doki Literature Club!) background, Natsuki/Yuri, Natsuki/Yuri (Doki Doki Literature Club!)
Comments: 9
Kudos: 84





	1. Meeting

**Author's Note:**

> Aaa this story is kinda crusty and I just don’t really like the writing but oh well. The characters also might be a little ooc, which I apologize for! I feel like it gets slightly better in the later chapters though. Please don’t leave hate, but if you have any suggestions or advice let me know!

If you told Natsuki in the past that she'd be at a fancy party for a fancy rich persons daughter, she would probably laugh in your face. But here she was, at a fancy party for a fancy rich persons daughter. She didn't even know anyone here, besides papa, but she hadn't seen him for an hour. He was probably somewhere drunk making out with some random woman.

She sighed and leaned against the wall, drink in hand. When the fancy waiter guys came around with trays of drinks, she only took one because they looked fancy, and alcoholic, which frankly, was what she needed right now. Being in a room with a bunch of random rich snobs she didn't even know wasn't exactly ideal for her, and the blaring music and loud chatting was giving her a major headache. She reluctantly raised the glass to her mouth and took a sip of the mystery liquid. She immediately grimaced when it came into contact with her mouth— _“Definitely alcoholic_ ,” the pink haired girl thought.

When papa had come home all chipper and happy earlier that day, Natsuki was already very confused— scared even. She hadn't seen papa that energetic in... years. It was honestly a foreign sight to her. But when papa gave her ¥10000 and told her to buy herself a pretty dress and make herself look presentable, she was even more bewildered. Now here she was— standing against a wall in some randos mansion, in a fancy dress, drinking some weird strong alcohol, wondering how she was even forced to come her in the first place.

And then, right as Natsuki was thinking that her night couldn't get any worse, some random person bumped into her and spilled their drink all over her new outfit. Natsuki groaned and looked down at the mess her dress had become. _“Just my luck, huh?”_

"Hey! Watch where you're-" Natsuki was about to tell the person off, which they deserved for practically ruining her dress, but the words were knocked out of her mouth when she saw the culprit. She was beautiful— with alluring, silky purple hair that was tied up in a elegant bun, and violet eyes, which were staring back into Natsuki's pink ones. The girl was wearing a classy, purple dress that draped down to her ankles with long, black gloves. Natsuki found herself blushing at the stranger, who was stammering about something, but the pink haired girl wasn't paying attention. Instead, she was focused on the others girls lips and how beau-

"Hello? I am so so sorry! I-I-" Natsuki was shook from her rather strange thoughts as the girl frantically searched for paper towels, trying to blot away the mess she had made out her dress, only making it worse in the process. The stranger shrieked at this, and began more frantically wiping the dress with every towel she could find.

Natsuki just giggled at this— it was kind of cute to be honest. She was really mad at first, but just seeing the purple haired beauty's adorable panicking made her forget all about the dress. Her giggling had now turned into full on laughter. She almost doubled over in laughter, holding her stomach as she chuckled. The other girl's purple orbs beamed at her in confusion. When she had finally recovered from the laugh attack, she stood up straight and gave a warm smile to the girl.

"It's alright! Didn't really like this thing anyways!" That wasn't true. She did actually like the dress quite a lot and papa would probably be mad that she had ruined it, but the stranger clearly already felt bad and Natsuki didn't want to make her feel even worse than she did already.

"No! It's not okay. Uhh, come with me!" Without even giving Natsuki time to protest, the purple haired beauty grabbed the smaller girl by the wrist and dragged her upstairs and into a random room.

Natsuki marveled at the room, her mouth agape. It was probably ten times bigger than her own, maybe even her living room, and had fancy decor that just screamed, "Im rich!!" all over the place. The walls were littered with various art pieces and bookshelves.

The purple haired girl sat Natsuki down on the large canopy bed, which had purple bedding and a large arrangement of stuffed animals, (which Natsuki thought was the cutest thing ever, even though she hated that forsaken word) and then began searching through a large wardrobe on the other side of the room. Natsuki was too distracted taking in all the new scenery when she noticed the girl was holding out a dress to her.

"U-Uh here. Please put this on! I'm s-so sorry for ruining your dress!" The taller girl bowed with her eyes squeezed shut and a heavy blush on her face, her free hand holding the dress out to Natsuki.

"Hey it's okay, uh," Natsuki paused, realizing she didn't know the beauty's name.

"Y-Yuri. My names Yuri."

"Well, Yuri. I forgive you. Don't worry about it. Are you sure you want me to put this on though? I might mess it up..."

"Please do! It's the least I can do! And I'll wash your dress once you get changed!" The girl was bowing again. Natsuki just laughed and waved her hand at this.

"Raise your head. It's okay! My names Natsuki, by the way!" Natsuki smiled at Yuri, exposing her signature pointy fang.

"W-Well, Natsuki, I'll leave you alone to get changed!" And with that, Yuri raced out of the large room, leaving the small girl alone.

Natsuki stood up from the bed and walked over to one of the many large mirrors in the room. She held up the dress to herself. It was pink and flowery, and very feminine, which Natsuki liked. It also didn't seem like it would too big— not saying Yuri was fat or anything. They just had very different, er... you know.  
——————

  
When Natsuki had finished getting changed into the charming dress, she had went into the the hallway where Yuri resided and let her know that she was indeed finished changing. They both came back into the room and sat onto the bed, remaining in an awkward silence for a while. Natsuki decided to break it, not wanting to just sit there like this all night.

"So, uh, is this your uh... mansion?"

Yuri flinched, as if the sudden noise scared her. "O-Oh, u-uh, yeah. Well my family's, of course. This is my room, as you could probably tell from all the purple everywhere. This is supposed to be my birthday party but my mom didn't even do it for me and more for her because she wants me to find a boyfriend and I wasn't having fun at all so— and god Im rambling, I'm sorry!" Yuri finished the run on sentence hiding her face in her hands, clearly embarrassed. Natsuki just giggled. She gently placed a hand on the purple haired girl's shoulder, comforting her with a tender smile.

"It's okay to ramble! To be honest, my dad pretty much dragged me here and I wasn't having fun at all until you spilt your drink all over me so... thanks!"

Yuri raised her head at that and stared at the smaller girl. Her heart was racing and her cheeks were rosy and— oh god, was she a big gay mess.

Natsuki didn't know why she was being so nice to the stranger. Maybe it was because she was slightly intoxicated, or maybe it was because of how utterly beautiful she was, but all she knew was that she wanted to get closer to Yuri.

"So, uh, do you have a n-number?" Natsuki suddenly blurted out, and immediately regretted it. She blushed at her dumb actions. “ _Of course she has a number, dumbass_!” She internally scolded herself.

"W-What? Oh, yeah!" Yuri's face grew even darker, if that was even possible at this point. She could sense how nervous Natsuki was. She scattered across the room to retrieve her phone and handed it to the smaller girl.

"Uh- here."

"T-Thanks." Natsuki grabbed the phone from Yuri's delicate hand. The case of the phone was— you guessed it, purple, and had flowers decorating every inch. Natsuki opened up the phone app and added herself as a contact. When she was done, she handed the phone back to the timid girl and handed her her own cellphone.

Yuri entered her information on Natsuki's phone and handed it back to her with a shy smile. Natsuki's cheeks rose in heat at this, once again, but she tried to shake it off. _“Why_ _am I blushing so much today?”_

The girls, not really knowing what to do after this, just sat in a comfortable silence for a while, until a sudden knock at the door startled them.

"O-Oh, I'll get it!" Yuri shot up from the elegant bed and made her way to the door, placing her hand on the handle and opening just enough so that only Yuri would be visible to the person on the other end.

"Yuri, what are you doing up here? You're supposed to be downstairs greeting guests." Natsuki leaned back on the bed in attempt to peer into the doorway and identify who belonged to the cold, female voice. It was a woman, who looked like a taller, more mature version of Yuri. She possessed the same purple hair and violet eyes as Yuri, and had the same mature aura. Natsuki assumed this was Yuri's mother, I mean, the resemblance was uncanny.

"Oh, I am sorry mother. I will be right down." Yuri bowed to the women, who she had confirmed to be her mom, closing the door and waited for the footsteps to fade away before sighing. Natsuki could tell how tense the purple haired girl got around her mother— it was a feeling she was all too familiar with, after all. She felt the same way around Papa. 

"You alright?" Natsuki questioned. Yuri turned around and smiled at the smaller girl.

"Yes, thank you. But as you heard, I have to get going. Ah— well I suppose you do too, since this is like... my room. Haha."

"Oh, yeah. Sorry! I'll get going. It was really nice to meet you, Yuri!" Natsuki stood up from the comfortable bed and walked over to the door where Yuri was. The pink haired girl smiled warmly at her before stepping out of the door.

"It was nice to meet you, too. I hope we can meet again!" Yuri beamed at Natsuki and also stepped out of the room, closing the door behind her.

"Thanks for spilling your drink on me, it made my night a lot better!" Natsuki smirked and didn't even wait for a reply before dashing away into the long, extravagant hallway. And just like that, they departed. Who knew if they'd ever see each other again. Natsuki sure hoped they would, though.


	2. Talking

The next morning, Natsuki awoke in her bed, like every other morning. When her and papa had left the party yesterday, he was too intoxicated to even notice that her dress has mysteriously morphed into a different one. For once she was glad that her father was a dead-beat.

The pink haired girl removed the blankets that were clinging to her body and stood up from her bed. _“Today’s gonna be a good day!”she_ thought. She could almost feel it in her bones.

With newfound determination, Natsuki made her way to the bathroom to shower, and then got dressed. She was extra careful not too be loud, not wanting to wake papa. It's not pretty when he gets angry.

When she was done with her morning regimen, she made her bed, and then plopped right back down onto it. She decided she would go on her phone for a while, maybe text Sayori and see if she wanted to hang out. Laying on her pink bedding, Natsuki picked up her phone and almost threw it from shock when she saw what was waiting in her notifications.

_Oh my god, Yuri texted me! She actually texted me! Okay, call down open the text..._

Yuri: _Hello. I just realized that I forgot to give you your dress back and you still have mine so... would you like to meet up so we can return them?_

Natsuki was freaking out on the inside. Yuri was basically asking her to go hang out. Mustering up all her courage, Natsuki hesitantly moved her fingers against the keyboard, typing her reply to Yuri's message.

Natsuki: _Yeah, sure! Where do you wanna meet?_

Within a matter of seconds, Yuri had already replied.

Yuri: _How about that café downtown?_

Natsuki: _Sure! See you in 20?_

Yuri: _Yep. :)_

Excitedly, Natsuki jumped up from her bed to find an outfit. Sure, she had already gotten dressed today, but she felt she should change for the occasion. This was her first time hanging out with Yuri, so she wanted to look presentable. “ _Ugh, what am I thinking? She just wants to return your dress, stupid!”_

Even if they were just meeting to return each other's clothes, she still was determined on finding the perfect outfit. Sorting through her closet, Natsuki finally decided on a white t-shirt that had a cat on it, and a pink, frilly skirt. She put the outfit on and looked in the mirror. Perfect!

Combing her hair into her usual hairstyle, she had finally finished getting ready. After picking up her phone to check the time, she placed Yuri's dress into a bag and headed for the door.

————

The smaller girl had arrived to the café a couple minutes early, so she decided to order herself a coffee and get them a table. She chose a table in the back by the window, and pulled out a manga she brought with her and began reading it while she quietly waited for Yuri.

Natsuki had been so immersed in her manga, she hadn't even noticed the purple haired girl creeping up to the table. Yuri, however, saw how distracted the pink haired girl was, so she decided she would give the girl a little spook. She bent down and whispered in her ear, "Hey there."

"GAHH- WHAT THE HELL?" Natsuki practically threw her manga across the café, shrieking in horror.

Yuri giggled, picking up the manga that Natsuki threw and handed it to her. "Oh my god! You should have seen your face!" She smiled at Natsuki before sitting down across from her. Natsuki noticed how much more open Yuri seemed today, and how her shy demeanor was mostly gone. 

"Yuri! That was mean!" Natsuki regained her composure and pouted at the purple haired beauty before her.

"I'm sorry for scaring you." Yuri said gently, making sure to look her in the eye. She was slightly frowning, but it wasn't forced, letting the girl know that she was completely and sincerely sorry.

In this moment, time felt as if it had stopped. Natsuki's cheeks were practically on fire, and her stomach was all tingly. Still, she tried to ignore the foreign feeling and stuffed her manga back into her bag, trying to distract herself from the weird sensation. She was probably just getting a cold.

Natsuki couldn't stay mad at the girl in front of her. The way she smiled at Natsuki gave her an unknown warm feeling in her chest. She was just so- cute. _“Gahh, what's wrong with you, Natsuki? Get yourself together.”_ Dismissing her thoughts, the pinked haired girl replied to Yuri with a huff, "I-It's okay."

"Ah, right—the dress." Yuri looked away from Natsuki, to her dismay, and grabbed the pink gift bag she had placed by her feet when she came in. She then handed it to her with a warm smile, causing Natsuki's heart to do backflips, once again. She brushed it off and grabbed her bag as well, delivering it to the taller girl.

"Thanks." Yuri said, grabbing the bag from her, and placing it under the table by her feet. The girls sat in each others company for a while, occasionally talking and laughing about random things. Finally Yuri decided she should stop being so awkward and try to start up an actual conversation.

"So Natsuki, tell me about yourself. What do you like to do?" Yuri questioned, finally breaking the tension. Both girls had been a little scared to have a real chat with each other, still being strangers basically, but now that Yuri had, it was less awkward. Natsuki thought for a moment before answering, seemingly deciding what to to her.

"Well, let's see. I love to bake! And read manga. I also write poems and stuff sometimes, but that's only because I'm in a literature club at school, and that's one of the activities we do." Natsuki answered, stirring what was left of her drink, which was basically just ice now, while the girl before her smiled.

"Ahh, you enjoy literature, Natsuki? That doesn't really seem like the kind of thing you're into."

"Well, I like manga. And don't you dare say manga isn't literature! I was basically forced to join by my friend, Sayori, but it's a lot more fun than I thought it would be."

Yuri nodded and smiled. "Oh, well that's wonderful!"

"What about you Yuri? What do you like to do?" Natsuki questioned, tilting her head at the purple haired girl, who only smiled in return. Something about that smile made Natsuki feel... safe.

"Well, I enjoy literature, such as reading and writing. My favorite genre is horror. I am also interested in tea making, and collecting knives." Yuri stated calmly, bringing the tea mug, which she had ordered shortly after arriving to the café, up to her mouth and taking a sip.

"Collecting knives?? That's kind of— creepy." The smaller girl retorted, looking at Yuri.

"Not to me. It's sort...of calming in a way." She commented, scanning the pink haired girl sitting across from her, making sure she didn't make her uncomfortable. That's the last thing Yuri intended, she didn't wanna risk a potential friendship just because she had some rather— odd hobbies.

"Hmm, kind of like baking for me. It just brings me to my happy place, you know?" Natsuki added, smiling, her cute little fang popping out in the process. Yuri sighed in relief, and then nodded.

"Yes, exactly." Checking her watch, Yuri had discovered that it was quite late now, and they had been here chatting for an hour or two. She showed the time to Natsuki, who looked like she had seen a ghost right as she saw it.

"Oh, shit!" Natsuki frantically popped up from the seat, stuffing the rest of her belongings into her bag. Yuri still sitting, eyed the smaller girl in confusion.

"I've gotta go! It was really nice hanging out, Yuri!" With this, Natsuki zoomed out of the café door, with out even giving Yuri a chance to reply. The purple haired girl was left alone in the café, confused and wondering if she did something wrong. She picked up her things and left, as well. _“That was... strange?”_

Meanwhile, Natsuki was running as fast as she could home. It was almost 1 pm. She hadn't even told papa she was going anywhere when she left this morning. She was for sure getting a beating as soon as she walked through that door. Ignoring the stinging in her legs, she pushed on, running with all her might towards her house. She hoped, prayed, that papa hadn't noticed she was gone. She really wished that he was still hungover, in bed, still clueless.

As Natsuki approached her house, she allowed herself to slow down and catch her breath. She couldn't be too loud when she came in, maybe papa was asleep and didn't know she had snuck out.

Finally arriving at her abode, she walked up to the front and stuck in her key, entering her house as quietly as possible. So far, no sign of papa. All the lights were off, and the house reeked of its usual stench— beer and cigar. She slid off her shoes and then gently creeped up the stairs, one at a time.

"Natsuki? Is that you?" A deep, slurred voice asked. Shit.

"Y-Y-Yes, It's me." Natsuki's heart was pounding in her chest. She stepped back down the stairs, her father waiting angrily at the bottom.

"Where the fuck were you, little bitch? Who told you that you could leave?" Papa growled, his teeth clenched. He clutched a beer bottle in his right hand, almost crushing it from anger.

"I-I-I..." Natsuki couldn't answer. She was frozen from fear, shaking while she clutched the bag that was still in her hands. Her head hung, staring at the cold, hardware floor.

"Well? Not gonna answer? Guess I'll have to punish you, then." Papa began inching closer to Natsuki, capturing her against the wall by the front door. The fragile girl couldn't move, much less speak. She already accepted he was gonna beat her, even if she revealed where she was all this time or not. Avoiding eye contact, she looked anywhere but at him, preparing herself for the pain she would feel in a second. Papa sighed, and then began punching her in the stomach. Natsuki let out a cry of pain as she sunk to the floor. He then kicked her in the legs, she knew that would leave bruises later. He finished her "punishment" by crushing the empty beer bottle on her head while he smiled.

"That should do it, for now." He walked away, not even an ounce guilty for what he just did to his own daughter, even if it had been about the millionth time. Natsuki wasn't listening, though. Everything was already starting to go black.


	3. Transfer student

It was cold. She looked around her and saw nothing but darkness. _“Where am I?”_ She scanned the area, confused, trying to find an explanation for why she wasn't in her bed. She then remembered the events of yesterday, what happened when she got home. Papa wasn't happy, that's for sure.

She attempted to stand up, her whole body aching and screaming in pain in the process. Slowly, she made her way up the stairs and into her room. Without even changing, she crashed down onto her bed and began bawling, hand over mouth to muffle the noise. Waking papa would not be a good idea right now.

After releasing her pent up stress, she picked up her phone to check the time. It was 3 am. She'd been blacked out for hours. She had school at 8, so she decided she would try to sleep. Dismissing the pain throughout her whole body, she drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

————

The blaring alarm and the sunlight peaking through the window greeted the pink haired girl as she woke up. She couldn't afford blinds, and papa certainly wouldn't buy her any. Not ready to face the day, she stayed idle on her bed, staring at the blank ceiling. Her body still ached from yesterday, but she ignored it. It wasn't like she wasn't used to it.

When she finally decided she was done procrastinating, Natsuki slowly stood up from her bed, rubbing the sleep from her rose eyes. Her morning proceeded like any other, taking a bath, getting dressed, checking to see if any bruises needed to be covered, scavenging the cabinet in hopes of finding any food at all. You know, just the usual.

After making sure that no bruises were visible, Natsuki had finished her morning routine. She grabbed her school bag, slipped on her shoes and tipped toed out of the front door, closing it gently behind her. Papa was still in his room sleeping.

The small girl began walking to school, taking in the scenery around her. Even though she took this route everyday, the girl would never get tired of seeing all the little kids smiling faces, or the beautiful gardens people had in their yards. She smiled, picking up her pace so she wasn't late. Arriving at the school, she stopped at the gates to wait for Sayori, something that had become a habit for her. Natsuki always got to school first, surprisingly, so she waited for her best friend and they would walk in together. If they lived closer to each other, they would definitely just walk together in the mornings, but this was the next best thing.

"Hey! Morning Natsuki!" Sayori approached the pink haired girl, practically bouncing as she frantically waved at her with a wide, toothy grin.

Natsuki saw her friend approaching and stopped leaning against the wall to greet her. "What took you so long, dummy?" She complained as she moved closer to the energetic girl.

Sweat dropped from Sayori's forehead after seeing the pink haired girl's scary expression, "Well, I might have slept in again. Tehe." Natsuki only glared at the girl in response, and turned around away from her and heading in the direction of the doors.

"Hey, wait for me!" The coral haired girl exclaimed, running after her friend. Feeling a little guilty, Natsuki slowed down allowing the other girl to catch up.

"Meanie!" Sayori pouted, crossing her arms and puffing her cheeks out. Natsuki laughed and rolled her eyes.

"I am not. You need to get up earlier!" She puffed, giving the bubbly girl a playful glare before heading towards her locker. Sayori followed after her, still pouting, "I'll try!"

The friends continued gathering their textbooks from their lockers in silence for a while before the bell rang. Luckily, the girls had first period together. Natsuki probably wouldn't survive without her. The two girls closed their lockers and began walking to class.

"Ooh, did you hear a new student is transferring to our class?" Sayori excitingly blurted out as they walked through the classroom door.

Natsuki looked at her puzzled. "Really? This late in the year?" Both girls walked over to their usual desks in the back corner of the class.

"Yep! They've been homeschooled their whole life, apparently. I overheard the teachers on friday."

"Stop eavesdropping on people!" Natsuki scolded, chopping the slightly taller girl on the head.

Sayori squeaked and held onto her head, "Hey! That hurt!" She cried.

"That's the point." Natsuki plopped down into her seat, giving a cold expression to her friend. Sayori only pouted and sat down in the desk next to her. The friends talked for a while, laughing and chatting as much as they could before the teacher came in.

"Good morning, Class." Ms. Rei said, waking into the classroom. Everyone went silent at the sound of her voice and clacking heals. The woman was quite young, she had to be in her late 20's. She was recognized around the school for her unique and mature fashion sense. Today, she was wearing a grey suit with a matching skirt, and a green tie that matched her eyes. Her blonde hair was tied up in a bun, just the right amount of messy and classy. All the students bowed to her, ending their current conversations and making their way back to their own desks.

"We have a new student joining us today, come in please." Everybody's eyes moved to the doorway, except Natsuki and Sayori. They were still lost in their own world, whispering to each other in the back of the class. Everyone else's attention focused on the tall girl that had walked in.

The mysterious girl took a piece of chalk and wrote her name on the blackboard. "H-Hello, my name is Yuri. I hope we get along w-well." Her purple hair fell around her face as she bowed, face red withembarrassment. The whole class' attention was stolen by the girl, people whispering to each other about her.

Natsuki's head popped up at the name and voice. Her eyes traveled to the front of the room, meeting the other girls purple ones. Yuri's face went even more red, mouth agape. Natsuki slightly waved at the girl and shrunk into her seat. She couldn't believe out of all schools in the city, Yuri had ended up at hers.

Sayori, who had seen the whole exchange happen, looked at the smaller girl confused. "You know her?" She questioned, moving her face closer to Natsuki's to whisper-yell at her. Natsuki awkwardly laughed, turning towards her friend who was starting at her demandingly.

"Uh, y-yeah. Kinda." She replied, turning her head around to stare at the front of the room again. Yuri had a piece of her hair in between her fingers, fidgeting with it out of nervousness. She seemed totally different from when her and Natsuki were together alone the last time.

"Well, Miss Yuri, you can have a seat in the back next to Natsuki. Natsuki, please raise you hand." Miss Rei gestured to the back of the classroom, where Natsuki sat. Of course she told her to sit next to me, she thought. The pink haired girl raised her hand, even though Yuri already knew who she was. The latter bowed at her new teacher before inching to the back of the classroom. She smiled shyly at the girl before gently sitting down, making sure to look anywhere but at her.

Ms. Rei started the lesson, writing down various math equations and problems. Sayori continued to pound her friend with questions.

"How do you know her?" she whispered, making sure the teacher or the girl beside them wouldn't hear. Natsuki shushed her and pointed towards the board, telling the girl to pay attention.

"I'll tell you after class."

————

As soon as class ended, Natsuki grabbed her bag and bolted out of the door. Her last meeting with Yuri hadn't ended so well. Natsuki had run away, and didn't even text or call her to apologize, and now she was doing the same thing. If she didn't before, Yuri probably hated her now.

Sayori grabbed her things and followed her friend out the door. "Are you gonna tell me now?" She whined, poking her head over the side of Natsuki's locker while she stuffed her books into it.

"We met at a party over the weekend, that's all." She stated, now grabbing the textbooks she needed for next period out of her locker. Sayori stared at her best friend, intrigued.

"What? You never go to partys!"

"Not like a party party. Like, a rich people snobby party. My dad forced me to go." Natsuki said as she closed her locker. She turned to her friend and frowned, "Are you done interrogating me now?"

"I guess!" Sayori said, skipping after the other girl who had already started walking away. Natsuki rolled her eyes and stopped in the middle of the hallway. Sadly, the two didn't have this period together, so they smiled at each other and said their goodbyes for now.

Hesitantly, Natsuki stepped into her next class. There was still a couple minutes until the period started, so not many people were in there yet. One student, however, caught her attention. In the front of the classroom sat Yuri. She was fidgeting with her hands, staring down at the book on her desk like it was the most interesting thing she had ever seen. Natsuki sighed, she felt bad for avoiding the girl. It was her first day and she didn't know anyone, and Natsuki hadn't said a real word to her yet. She was clearly fragile, and probably thought Natsuki didn't like her, but really she just had to get home. She definitely should have texted the girl though, but papa had knocked her out good.

Shaking off her nerves and guilt, Natsuki approached the timid girl, sitting down next to her. "Hey." She smiled, grabbing her book out of her bag and placing it on the desk.

"O-Oh. Natsuki. Hi." The purple haired girl shrieked, startled at the sudden noise next to her. She greeted the girl, hiding her face behind her violet hair. Her face looked slightly sad, her lips down in a subtle curve.

Natsuki saw this and immediately felt worse. She could tell she had made the other girl feel bad. "Sorry for avoiding you. I just thought you might hate me cause I ran off the other day." She frowned, looking down at her desk.

Yuri sighed in relief, her shoulders along with her mood relaxing at this. "Oh. T-Thank god. I thought you just didn't like me." Natsuki laughed, and turned her attention towards the girl next to her.

"Of course not! I just forgot I had, er... something to do at home." Natsuki stumbled at the last part, thinking of something to tell the girl before her. She obviously couldn't tell her what actually happened, but it wasn't like she was lying.

Natsuki had never liked a stranger this much, the only other person she was really comfortable with being Sayori. Something about Yuri just made Natsuki feel, weird, like they were meant to be friends.

"Oh, alright. I'm glad." The girls continued their conversation, talking about random things, even after the teacher walked in and started the lesson. That class seemed to go by rather quick, as the bell rang what seemed like shortly after it had started. They both quietly gathered their things, blushing as they realized they hadn't payed attention one bit in the class.

They quietly walked out the door, stopping in front of it for a second. Natsuki broke the silence. "So, what class do you have next?" She questioned, gesturing to the paper schedule in Yuri's delicate hands.

"Let's see. I have english." Yuri observed the paper, holding it out for the girl in front of her to see.

Natsuki frowned, "I have history." Yuri blushed after seeing the pink haired girl's disappointment that they didn't have the same class. _“Cute,”_ she thought. 

"Aw. W-Well, I'll see you later?" Yuri stuttered, hiding behind her hair, once again. Natsuki giggled at this and nodded. The girl parted ways and went to their respective classes. 


	4. Friends?

A few hours had passed, and it was now lunch time.

Natsuki and Sayori were in their homeroom classroom, eating together like they did everyday. Well, Sayori ate and Natsuki watched.

Of course her friend had questioned why she had no lunch many times, but she'd always say she forgot to pack one or ate it the period before. Pitying the smaller girl, Sayori would often give her friend an apple or an energy bar, but besides that Natsuki couldn't even remember the last proper meal she had. Papa never kept food in the house, and certainly wouldn't give her any money for any.

Staring at her friend eating a sandwich, ignoring the pains taking over her stomach, Natsuki sat in silence, waiting for lunch to be over. I mean, sure, it was her favorite period because she was with Sayori, but breaks were particularly boring when all you have to do is watch someone else eat. Sighing, Natsuki redirected her stare, scanning everyone around her. Only a few people ate in the classrooms, everybody else preferring the cafeteria. Looking over to the doorway, she noticed someone— Yuri, standing in the doorway frozen. She held a little lilac lunch box in her hands, trembling as she looked across the room.

Natsukis guilt rised immediately after seeing her. She forgot to even invite her to sit with them at lunch!

"H-Hey, Sayori, is it okay if Yuri sits with us?" She gulped, nervous about the teasing the girl would probably subject her to.

"Of course it is! Bring her over here!" Sayori exclaimed, her mouth still stuffed with food. Natsuki shook her head and handed the girl a napkin, who only sheepishly smiled at her. Preparing herself, Natsuki stood up from the desk and made her way over to the shy girl standing alone.

"H-Hey Yuri." Natsuki tapped the taller girl on the shoulder, offering a kind smile in the process. Yuri cringed a little, startled from the sudden interaction.

She blushed when she noticed the small girl in front of her and smiled, "H-Hi."

"Would you like to come sit with us?" Natsuki asked, pointing the girl towards the table where her and Sayori were sitting. The coral haired girl noticed this and waved at the two, crumbs all over her face. Yuri let out a soft chuckle and nodded her head, letting Natsuki lead the way back to the table.

"This is Sayori." Natsuki pointed at her best friend as she sat down, Yuri sitting down in the chair across from her.

"Hey!" The bubbly girl smiled, wiping all the crumbs that remained on her mouth. Natsuki rolled her eyes at her friends actions, turning her head towards the purple haired girl.

"H-Hi. You sit next to Natsuki in homeroom, r-right?" Yuri asked, her head slightly tilted down avoiding eye contact. Her cheeks were lightly dusted with blush, and her violet hair covered one of her eyes.

Natsuki stared at the girl, lost in her own world. She truly was beautiful. The way her purple eyes sparkled and how cute she looked when she blu-

_"Agh, what is wrong with me?_ " The pink haired girl scolded herself, shaking the thoughts from her mind. Sure, Yuri was pretty— very pretty, but she didn't need to go on a whole tangent about it. She was probably just jealous that she didn't look like Yuri. The girls cheeks were now on fire. She shook her head and returned her attention to the conversation going on in front of her.

"Yep! I'm surprised the teacher hasn't moved us by now." Sayori laughed, nudging the smaller girl in the shoulder. Yuri gave a small giggle, her eyes wondering curiously between the two girls in front of her.

Natsuki gave her friend a death stare, moving her arm away. "Stop doing that!"

"Sorry, sorry!" The blue eyed girl put her hands up in defense, begging for the fiesty girl next to her to not hurt her. Natsuki laughed at this and gave her one last glare before turning towards Yuri.

"So, Yuri, what made you transfer to this school?" She questioned. Sayori next to her nodded eagerly, clearly wanting to know the answer as well.

Yuri smiled at the two and looked down at her hands, which were rested gently on her lap. "Well, mother said it would be good for me to interact with others my own age. I have been homeschooled my whole life, so I haven't really had any friends before." The girl explained calmly, probably the calmest she's been all day. Her hands were now busy playing with a section of her hair, twirling it back and forth.

"Awe, you've never had any friends before? Ever?" Sayori questioned, staring at the purple haired girl across from her.

She gently shook her head, "Well, N-No."

"Well, me and Nat are your friends now, right Nat?" The coral haired girl exclaimed, grabbing Yuri's hands and turning her head towards Natsuki for confirmation.

Yuri's blush was now significantly darker, the tips of her ears now red, too. She hid her glowing face behind her hair, something Natsuki had noticed her do quite a few times today already. Goddamn, another adorable thing she does.

"I-I mean, s-sure!" Natsuki blushed, her cheeks puffing out. Her arms were crossed around her chest, head turned away from the girls near her. Sayori only smiled and threw the girl into a hug, smushing their cheeks together. Natsuki desperately tried to break free, shouting things at her attacker.

Yuri giggled watching the two. For a minute, they had all forgotten about all the bad things in life, enjoying that moment.

The three new friends continued chatting and bonding throughout all of lunch, which had gone by too quickly. Unfortunately, the bell eventually rung, and they headed towards their separate classes.

_"Friends, huh? I guess being friends with her isn't so bad."_ Natsuki smiled, thinking of the purple haired girl. They were a very unexpected duo, but she was glad the universe had allowed them to meet once again.


	5. New member

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if you feel like the story is moving too slow! It speeds up after this chapter. Enjoy!

The rest of the school day creeped by painfully slow. It was now seventh period, and Natsuki was sitting in the corner of the room staring at a poster on the wall. It was one of those cheesy ones that teachers always had, colorful and talking about all the classroom rules. She scoffed at the poster and then crashed her head onto the old desk she was sitting at. "Only five more minutes," she reminded herself as she counted down in her head. The clocked ticked, increasing her urgency to get out of the classroom.

The bell suddenly rung, she probably spaced out and hadn't realized it. Stuffing her papers into her messy book bag, she made her way out of the suffocating classroom and to her locker.

"Natsukiiiii!" She was forcing crumpled papers into her locker when a figure appeared out of the crowded hallway, clinging itself onto the pink haired girl.

She laughed and tried to get the girl off her, "Hey Sayori." Her friend smiled at her and went to her own locker, which was only a few down.

It only took them a minute or so for them both to put all of their belongings they didn't need away in their lockers, and then they made their way to the literature club clubroom.

The literature club was one of Natsuki's favorite places. Even though the club only consisted of herself, Sayori and Monika, it kind of felt like a second home. Well, first home, really. Her 'home' wasn't a home at all. It was basically a prison. She longed for the day she turned eighteen, and the minute she did, she would be out of there in a heartbeat. He couldn't stop her anymore.

Pushing the thoughts from her mind, the two rounded the corner to their club room. They approached the door, but as they did, the pink haired girl noticed someone she knew all to well at this point— Yuri.

There she stood, her head peaking into the classroom. If it weren't for her alluring purple hair, Natsuki probably wouldn't have even noticed the girl, but her body and hair stood out too well. _Heh_ , it really did seem like the universe was forcing them together.

Sayori tilted her head at her friend, eyebrows raised in confusion. Natsuki only shrugged, indicating an " _I don't know._ " She had no idea why Yuri was peering around in her clubroom.

The small girl turned away from the girl beside her and walked over to Yuri, tapping her on the shoulder. "Um, Yuri?"

"A-Ah! Natsuki!" Yuri frantically turned around. In her hands was a form, the ones you get from the student council when you want to join a club. Natsuki looked between Yuri and the paper in confusion.

"Are you here to join the club?" She asked, gesturing towards the paper in the purple haired girls hands. She nodded shyly, almost looking ashamed of herself.

"W-Well, I thought I-It wouldn't hurt."

Natsuki only nodded, showing her a slight smile. Yuri faintly smiled back, twisting and playing with her hair in between her delicate looking fingers. Her cheeks were dusted with pink— a very common sight when it came to Yuri. She was seemingly always blushing, but she couldn't blame her. She seemed to be nervous a lot.

The two girls must have been busy smiling at each other, because they had seemed to forget about the other girl standing there before she had spoken. "Come in! Monika's not here yet, but she should be here soon!" The coral haired exclaimed. Yuri bowed at the girl and slowly walked inside the classroom.

Natsuki immediately went to the closet, retrieved her manga and then plopped down onto her normal spot in the corner. She thought this was the best spot in the clubroom. It was close the closet, which was ideal because it's where she stored her manga. It was also in the back of the room, giving her a little privacy and room to herself. She eagerly opened the manga and began reading, becoming immersed in seconds.

It had been a whole three days since she got to read Parfait Girls. The only times she got to read manga were during the literature club or at lunch. She didn't dare take the books home. Last time she did, Papa was angry. He had called the books _"stupid and childish, just like you"_ , and ripped the pages out. She never wanted that to happen again, so she asked Monika if she could keep them in the clubroom. Of course she had questioned her, but she just said she didn't have enough space at her house for them.

Getting lost in the manga, she continued reading until Monika stormed into the room.

She stood in the door way, out of breath and her hands on her knees. She looked like she just ran a marathon.

"Sorry for being late!" Monika said as she wiped a single bead of sweat from her forehead. She smiled sheepishly at particularly no one before stepping into the room and setting her things down.

Natsuki peeked out from behind and manga and rolled her eyes. "Wow Monika, late to your own club? Great role model!"

"I'm sorry! I was practicing piano again and lost track of time." She rubbed the back of her neck as she pouted in apology. Natsuki only ignored it, closed her manga and placed it on the ground next to her.

Sayori, however, was fairly excited to see Monika and rushed over to her to give a her a tight hug. Monika reciprocated, rapping the coral haired girl in her arms and patting her head. Natsuki scoffed at them and turned away. The two were always doing some act of PDA in the clubroom, which Natsuki thought was completely inappropriate. They were always hugging, or playing around, which annoyed her. She wasn't jealous or anything, it was just completely inappropriate for a club environment!

After breaking her and Sayori's embrace, Monika finally spotted the stranger sitting in the middle of the room. "Oh, who's this?" She grinned, shuffling over to her.

"I-I'm Yuri. I came to j-join the club." Yuri stuttered, hands trembling slightly as she handed her form to Monika. The brown (?) haired girl looked over it briefly and smiled at her.

"Welcome, Yuri! I'm Monika, the club president. I hope you enjoy your time here!" They shook hands and Monika returned to the front of the room to chat with Sayori.

————

A while had passed as the girls sat in silence. Well, mostly silence. The occasional conversation would happen between Sayori and Monika, and at some point Yuri had come over to Natsuki to see what she was reading and chit chat with her. Besides that, the four did their own thing for the club period.

"Well everyone, club is over. You are dismissed! See you tomorrow!" Monika announced, standing at the the teacher's podium in the front of the room. To be honest, Monika kind of felt like a teacher, in a way. She was mature, but kind, most of the time, and was helpful towards her fellow club mates. She seemed like a mom in a way, not that Natsuki would know. Her's had... well, let's not talk about that right now.

Monika and Sayori were the first to pack up and leave the room. The two walked home together everyday, so it was only natural they left the club room together. That meant it was only her and Yuri left in the room.

" _Ugh, stop thinking weird things, dummy!"_ She scolded her self mentally and shook the thoughts from her mind. Plus, being alone with Yuri wasn't that big of a deal. I mean, sure she was pretty... _really pretty._ But she had been alone with her before. And besides, Natsuki wasn't gay. Yuri was just really pretty. There's nothing wrong with appreciating another girls beauty, right?

Natsuki rose from her seat on the floor and returned her precious manga to it's home in the closet. She kissed it goodbye before packing up the remainder of her belongings.

"H-Hey, Natsuki?"

Natsuki looked up to see the purple haired girl now standing in front of her. Her cheeks were rosy, like always, and she was twirling her hair around her finger. Again and again, almost as if she was curling it. Something about the girl made her heart feel— warm? She didn't know why, though, or what it was. Maybe this was how it felt to make a new friend. "Yes, Yuri?"

"W-Would you like to w-walk home together? I want to make sure you get home s-safely."

Natsuki smiled at the girl and pulled her phone out of her bag to make sure she was on time. She still had about 20 minutes before she need to get home, so there was no reason to decline her offer.

"Sure!"

"Great, let's go."

The two girls made their way out of the club, and out the school. The walked together for a while, chatting about whatever came to mind. Sometimes it was their interests, or something they saw on the news. Anything, really. But like all good things, it had to end eventually.

"U-Um, my house is this way. Sorry that I won't be able to accompany your home." Yuri bowed, her purple locks falling beautifully in front of her.

"It's alright! See ya, Yuri!" Natsuki smiled, her pointy fang poking out.

Yuri giggled at that and waved slightly, "Goodbye Natsuki." And with that, Yuri turned towards her neighborhood.

Surprisingly, Yuri's house wasn't in a gated community. You'd figure, with how big and expensive it is, it would be, but it was just in a a neighborhood full of similarly large houses and mansions. All of the rich people in their town resided there.

Natsuki waited until Yuri faded from her vision before continuing on her walk. She occasionally hummed openings from her favorite anime's, or counted the amount of steps she took, until she arrived at her home.

She made sure Papa's car wasn't in the driveway or on the street before letting herself in. _"Thank god he's not home yet."_ She sighed in relief mentally before trudging up the stairs and into her room.

Being quite tired from today, she threw herself onto her bed without hesitation. It wasn't the most comfortable bed, a couple of the springs were poking out and the mattress was hard, but it was what she had. Papa certainly would not buy her a new one. He had told her she didn't deserve money to be spent on her, and that if she wanted anything, she had to work for it. In the rare occasion Natsuki would want anything, she did baby sitting to pay for it. At this her father said she _"was finally being useful for once."_

She tried to ignore the memories and rolled over onto her back, hugging the stuffed animal she called Neko. She was a pink cat, and Natsuki's favorite. She was always embarrassed to admit it, but she still slept with stuffies. They made her feel happy.

She tried to think of something positive, remembering today's events. Today had been a pretty good day for her. No beating from papa, at least not yet, and she had even grown closer to Yuri.

Content, the pink haired girl smiled and buried her head into her fluffy pillow. That night, she fell asleep with thoughts of her purple haired friend in her head.


	6. Cupcakes and a sleepover

A couple days had passed since Yuri joined the literature club, and her and Yuri were growing closer every day. These days were spent by them mostly doing whatever they wanted during the club, and they hadn't even really welcomed the new member properly. This morning, Natsuki had woken up extra early to make her specialty cupcakes. She figured it was the right thing to do, considering Yuri was new and hadn't even tried them before. Everyone raved about her baked goods, especially her club members, so she wanted Yuri to try them. Not that she cared what the other girl thought, or anything!

The cupcakes were cute, like always. They were chocolate cake with purple frosting and had little cat ears. She had even went out of the way to stuff them with a caramel cream. Natsuki was quite proud of them, they might have even been one of her best works yet. Thankfully, Papa hadn't come home the night before, so he didn't know that she was baking. He hated when she did.

She transported the cupcakes to school in a box and left them in the clubroom before classes started. This way, she wouldn't have to lug them around all day, and Sayori wouldn't know about them. She would just eat all of them if she did, like always.

The school day passed by in a flash, and it was the end of the day before she even knew it. Which also meant it was club time, Natsuki's favorite part of the day. 

Natsuki rushed to the classroom, making sure she the first one to get there. When she arrived, she went directly to the closet to retrieve the cupcakes, and then placed them on the teachers desk that was in the front of the room. She waited for the rest of the members to arrive while she sat in the back of the classroom.

A couple minutes later, an energetic Sayori skipped into the club room.

"Hey Nat!" She called, but her attention was immediately compromised when she saw the cupcakes on the desk.

"Ooh! What's the occasion?" She asked, her eyes staring hungrily at the box of sweets.

"T-There's no occasion, dummy! Why can't I just make cupcakes?" Natsuki huffed, standing up to move the box away from Sayori, who was approaching the cupcakes slowly. The coral haired pouted at that, but then gave a big toothy grin and wrapped her friend in a suffocating hug. Natsuki struggled, trying to wriggle out of the girls arms. "Sayori, let me go!!"

"Hehehe, you're so sweet Natsuki!" Sayori giggled, squeezing the girl even tighter. Natsuki's cheeks were bright red, and her eyebrows arched. Sayori continued to torture her friend until they heard a cough in the doorway.

Both girl's heads snapped over to where the sound came from, where they saw Yuri standing in the doorway, fiddling with her hair like always.

"U-Um, am I i-interrupting something?"

"What? Of course not!" Natsuki instantly jumped away from Sayori, practically ending up on the other side of the room. She looked to the side and puffed her cheeks out, which were still burning up.

Sayori laughed and went towards the cupcakes once again. Natsuki swore she could see the hunger in her eyes, and she was basically drooling over them. Sayori looked over to her friend with pleading eyes, begging to open the box with the tantalizing cupcakes inside. The pink haired girl only rolled her eyes and waved her hand, finally allowing her to have one. The blue eyed girl jumped up, fiercely opening the box of goods.

Yuri looked at the girl in astonishment. She didn't even know if what Sayori was doing could be considered eating. It was more like...vigorously devouring. Sweat dropped from her forehead as she watched Sayori stuff yet another cupcake in her mouth, engulfing it in one bite.

"Um, is she always like this?" Yuri asked, her question directed towards the small girl next to her. Natsuki didn't even looked fazed, like this was a normal thing.

She nodded and looked at cupcake monster with shame. "Pretty much. You should probably get yourself a cupcake before she eats them all. I made them for you anyways!"

Blush rushed to Yuri's cheeks. Did she just hear her right? _"Why would anyone go out of their way to make cupcakes for me?"_ She pondered.

"Y-You made them for m-me?"

Natsuki's eyes widened in surprise when she realized what she said.

"W-What? No!! Of course not dummy! I didn't make them for y-you at all!" The tiny girl placed her hands on her hips and looked away from Yuri, probably trying to hide the immense blush on her cheeks and embarrassment on her face. Yuri giggled and then walked over to grab herself a cupcake. _"She did make them for me, after all."_

By the time Monika arrived to the club, all the cupcakes were gone, and Sayori sat in the corner stuffed. She had crumbs all of her face, and her lips were stained purple from the frosting. Natsuki verbally attacked her, scolding the girl for the hundredth time about sharing.

The club leader laughed at her fellow members antics. It was nice to see them having fun and getting along. Well, somewhat. 

She cleared her throat, gaining the attention of the three girls in the room. Sayori saw her and rushed over, clinging to her.

"Moniii, Natsuki's being mean!" She cried, burrowing her head into Monika's side. Monika patted the girl's head and comforted her.

Natsuki, on the other hand, was fuming. "Seriously? You ate all the cupcakes, and now you wanna cry to Monika??"

Sayori only burried her head further into the brown haired girl, causing her to giggle. Natsuki sighed, admitting defeat. Yuri, who sat at a desk reading her book, smiled at the scene. These girls were really growing on her.

"Ah, yes. I had something to discuss with you all." Monika said, gently prying Sayori off of her and moving to stand at the teacher's podium.

The other girls in the room looked at her in confusion.

"Well? What is it?" Natsuki urged.

"Well, since we recently gained a new member, I thought we should do something to bond more as a club. So, I was thinking that we could have a sleepover! It could count as a club activity."

Sayori was the first the speak, perking up at the idea.

"I think that's a great idea, Moni!" She encouraged, now standing at Monika's side.

Yuri nodded her head, agreeing to the sleepover idea. However, Natsuki wasn't sure. Of course she wanted to go, but Papa definitely wouldn't let her. She could lie, but if he found out, the consequences would be even worse. She pondered the suggestion, thinking about what to do. She could go, and risk getting the worst beating of her life. Or, she could stay home, and miss out on fun with her friends. Time with Yuri.

"Natsuki? What about you?" Monika questioned, looking at the pink haired girl who looked unsure.

She looked around the room, Sayori and Monika with pleading looks on their faces. Even Yuri looked like she wanted her to come, her eyes slightly sad. So even if it meant getting a terrible beating, she said yes.

The club collectively decided that the sleepover would be on Saturday, which was in two days. Monika and Sayori planned for the whole club period, and ultimately decided that it would take place at Yuri's home. This was because Yuri's parents were rarely home, being away on business trips most of the time, and her house was huge, so they'd have plenty of space to fool around.

The club had ended shortly after, and the club presidents headed home in a pair, as well as Natsuki and Yuri.

The walk home had been peaceful, enjoying the beautiful sunset and scenery with the beautiful purple headed girl beside her. It was moments like these that Natsuki truly enjoyed. She felt so calm, so content around Yuri— especially the few times they had gotten to be alone. At the same time though, her heart would speed up, and her palms would get sweaty. She was probably catching a cold.

"I should take some medicine." She thought out loud as she walked into her room. Papa wasn't home yet again, which was great. She could relax for a while before he came back angry and drunk, just like he did every other day.

She used this opportunity to take a nice, warm shower. She couldn't remember the last time she even had an actual relaxing one. As she scrubbed her body with soap, she thought about Yuri. The girl and her had grown quite close in the last few days, and they were practically always together now. They had even walked home with each other every day this week. She noticed that every time she was around Yuri, she felt strange, sick almost. Not in a bad way, but her stomach...tingled.

She brushed off the thoughts— it was probably just the hunger getting to her. She noted in her head to look for some food when she got out of the shower. She rinsed her body, and then got dressed into her pink kitten pajamas. They were getting to be a little snug, due to her having these for a few years now. But they were one of her only pairs, and they were super cute, so she refused to throw them out.

Natsuki climbed down the old wooden stairs and walked to the kitchen. She first opened the fridge, checking it's contents. The only things in there were plenty bottles of beer and some old lunch meat. Her face twisted and she closed the fridge in defeat. She then checked the cupboards, rummaging through every single shelf. The only things she found were some crackers and a energy bar. "Oh well, it'll have to do." She sighed as she walked back up into her room.

She crashed down onto her bed and began eating the snacks she scrounged for while going on her phone. She finished her food and continued going on her phone for a while until she decided to go to bed. It was almost 10 pm, which wasn't really late, but she was especially tired today. She said goodnight to Neko and then drifted off.

————

It was now Saturday, and Natsuki was finishing packing for Yuri's house. She decided that she'd act like she was going to go study at the library, and just deal with the consequences later.

She topped off her duffel bag with Neko and double checked to make sure she had everything she needed. The pink haired girl grabbed her phone, observing the time. She still had a while before she had to be at Yuri's, but she wanted to get out of this stupid house as soon as possible. _"I'm sure Yuri won't mind if I'm a little early."_ She hoped.

Natsuki gently creeped down the stairs, making sure they didn't creek. Papa was currently asleep on the couch, so it would be very bad if she woke him. She wrote him a small note and left it on the coffee table before heading out.

Since she didn't have a car, the small girl had to walk to Yuri's. This wasn't a problem though, as Yuri's house wasn't that far from hers, and she was used to walking everywhere, anyways.

When she arrived at the house, she noticed she was about 30 minutes early. Oh well. Natsuki made her way up the large steps and rang the doorbell. Even though she had been here before, she was still shocked at how large and elegant her house was.

The door opened a few seconds later, revealing Yuri standing on the other side. The girl was dressed in a long sleeved sweater, which was a beige color, and black jeans. Her silky purple locks were down in their usual style. She also noted that Yuri was wearing some makeup, just a bit of eyeliner and blush.

"Ah, Natsuki, you're early. C-Come in." The tall girl spoke, her voice calm and soothing. Natsuki swallowed her anxiety and let herself in, slipping off her shoes at the door.

"Sorry for coming early. I lost track of time." She lied, smiling to the girl before her.

Yuri smiled and shook her head. "Oh no, it's alright. Y-You're welcome here any time." She said, before walking into the kitchen. Not knowing what to do, Natsuki followed after the girl, watching her as Yuri grabbed two china teacups from the cabinet.

"Would you like some tea, Natsuki?" Yuri questioned, even though she had already gotten her a teacup from the cupboard.

"Yes please. Do you have any black tea?" Natsuki smiled, looking over to what seemed to be Yuri's tea collection. There were many different flavors, kinds, brands, everything. Natsuki was impressed by this, taking in all the different aromas of the herbs.

"Yes, I do." Yuri grabbed some tea leaves from the counter and set them next to the kettle. She filled the kettle with water and set it on the stove, leaving it to boil.

They both sat down on the couch in the living room, waiting for the water to heat up. Natsuki looked around at the mansion. It was very clean and neat, no dirt or messy anywhere. Basically the complete opposite of Natsuki's home. Considering how rich her family was, they probably had a maid.

"Say, Yuri. Do you have a maid to do stuff like that for you?" She questioned, her attention now stolen by the chandelier on the ceiling.

Yuri let out a small chuckled and followed the girls gaze, playing with the hem of her shirt. "Well, no. My family doesn't 'believe in maids'. I personally never wanted a maid, either. I like being able to do things myself." Yuri explained. Her voice was soft and her cheeks were perfectly rosy, probably due to the makeup on her face.

Natsuki gave an understanding nod and continued to dart her eyes all across the room. They began to hear the tea kettle letting out steam, so Yuri excused herself to fix their beverages.

"Would you like sugar in your tea?" She yelled from the kitchen.

"Yes please!" Natsuki yelled back, an innocent smile on her face. The two girls drank their tea while they waited for the other two to arrive. They chatted about anything and everything. Finally, around 35 minutes later, the missing two of the party arrived.

The two came in together smiling, both holding overnight bags in their arms. They greeted their friends and Yuri showed them where to leave their things, which was in the guest bedroom upstairs.

"Alright! What should we do?" Sayori asked after they had all got settled in, plopping down onto the couch in between Natsuki and Monika.

"Hmm... we could watch a movie?" Monika suggested, scratching her chin. They all nodded their heads in agreement, and Sayori chose the movie. She had chosen a scary one, probably just to mess with Natsuki. She knew how much the girl hated horror movies.

They were only a couple minutes in, and Natsuki was already shrunken into the couch, holding a pillow up to her face. She had to be prepared in case of jump scares. Yuri, however, looked totally calm. She seemed to even be enjoying the movie. Natsuki stared at the purple haired girl from the corner of her eye, watching as she immersed herself in the movie.

"Maybe if I stare at her the whole time, I won't get scared." She thought, laughing at the dumb idea in her head.

The movie started to get to its climax, becoming scarier every second. There had been a few times where a jump scare would happen and Natsuki would cling to Yuri and burry her face in the other girls neck, but she immediately after moved away and pretended like it didn't happen. Yuri found this super cute, and had reached down to hold the girls hand at one point when she was shaking. Natsuki didn't reject this, and gripped Yuri's hand even tighter as she watched the chilling scenes in the movie.

Their hands remained weaved throughout the whole rest of the movie, and Natsuki only pulled away when the lights came back on. She blushed and turned away from the purple haired girl, who looked quite flustered as well.

"Hmph! That wasn't scary at all!" Natsuki boasted, standing up from the long couch to stretch.

Sayori scoffed and laughed at the girl. "Sure, because you hugging the pillow for dear life was you enjoying the movie."

"Shut up dummy!" She screamed, chasing her coral haired friend around the large living room. Yuri and Monika shared a look and giggled at their friends antics.

————

A while had passed, and the girls were now in Yuri's bedroom eating some pizza. Monika had suggested they play a game to lessen their slight boredom. It wasn't even 11 pm yet, after all.

They all agreed and decided which game to play.

"Hmm, what about truth or dare?" Sayori exclaimed, pizza sauce on the corner of her mouth. Monika sighed and wiped it with a napkin.

"That's so basic!" Natsuki groaned while hugging Neko.

"Hey! No it's not!" She pouted.

"Sure, let's play." Yuri said, causing the two to stop fighting.

The game began normally, them asking silly questions and giving dumb dares.

"Okay, Yuri. Your turn. Truth or dare?" Sayori asked, her face littered with marker. One of her dares was to let her club mates draw whatever they wanted on her face, and she had to accept of course.

Yuri thought for a moment before answering, "Truth."

"Hmm... what's your sexuality?" Sayori asked, now snuggling her head into a pillow as she lay on her stomach like the rest of the girls.

Yuri's cheeks immediately set on fire and she hid her face in her purple pillow.

"Sayori! Don't just ask something like that!" Monika scolded, giving the girl a disappointed look. Yuri saw Sayori's sad expression and spoke up.

"No, i-it's fine. U-Uhm, I'm a... lesbian." She said as she continued to bury her face into her pillow.

_"Huh?"_ Natsuki thought. She was looked over at the purple haired girl, shocked. _"Yuri's g-gay?"_ The pink haired wasn't against gay people, not at all. She just didn't really expect it. Natsuki was now blushing herself, which she had no idea why.

"We will always support you Yuri!" Sayori shot up from the floor to give the flustered girl a hug, the other two members doing the same. The friends stayed in the hug for a moment, enjoying the embrace. When they pulled away, Yuri's face was still bright red. The didn't mention her sexuality for the rest of the night.

————

When it became time for the girls to go to sleep, Yuri directed Sayori and Monika to a guest bedroom. Unfortunately, there's was only one guest room and it only had 2 beds, leaving no where for Natsuki to sleep. Gosh, you'd think in such a big house there'd be more rooms.

Natsuki said she'd sleep on the couch, she didn't want Yuri to have to sleep there in her own home. The purple haired girl insisted that she sleep in her bed, and that she herself would take the couch. They argued for a while, ultimately deciding to just both sleep in Yuri's room. Yuri's bed was pretty big, after all, and there's was plenty of space for them to both sleep.

Natsuki was currently laying down on the canopy bed, struggling to fall asleep. The presence of the girl next to her was too distracting. She internally groaned and rolled over, her face meeting Yuri's sleeping one. She slightly smiled at this, taking in her features. Yuri looked super cute while she was asleep.

_"Ugh, there I go again! What is wrong with me??"_ Natsuki slapped her own cheeks, trying to wake herself from whatever spell she was under and rolled onto her back. She stared at the tall ceiling, trying to distract herself from the beauty beside her. She just wanted to reach out and touch her soft looking hair.

She once again rolled over to face Yuri. She was softly breathing, her chest moving up and down as she did. Her eyelashes looked so soft and long, and her lips perfectly pink. Of course Natsuki had noticed how beautiful the girl was before, who hadn't. She just had never gotten a chance to observe her from this close. Her face was burning, the room becoming a little hot. _"How is Yuri wearing long sleeves?"_ She turned over to face the wall.

Closing her eyes, the girl tried to fall asleep. She desperately tried to push away the thoughts in her head. She felt arms wrap around her from the back, and her eyes shot open. She slowly looked behind her to see Yuri, still asleep, hugging her. She didn't want to wake the girl, especially since she looked so peaceful— so she ignored it and allowed her to keep her arms around her. 

That night, Natsuki fell asleep thinking of the girl embracing her.

————

When she woke up in the morning, Yuri was already gone from next to her. Natsuki rubbed the sleep from her eyes and stood up from the bed to look for the girl. She crept down the large staircase, following the scent of bacon coming from the kitchen.

Yuri spotted her and immediately blushed. "O-Oh. Good morning N-Natsuki."

"Morning Yuri." She smiled, sitting at the island. She observed the girl making breakfast and waited for her other friends to come down.

This morning, Yuri was wearing a similar outfit to yesterday's. She was also wearing a lavender apron, probably to protect her clothes from stains as she cooked. Today though, her hair was tied up in a bun, much more messy than the time at the ball.

The other two girls came down eventually, looking half asleep still. They all ate breakfast in silence, only occasionally conversing. When they were done, all the girls got dressed and packed their bags.

"Thank you all for coming." Yuri smiled as the girls walked out of the door, heading back to their own homes.

Natsuki didn't quite want to leave yet, knowing Papa would be absolutely furious when she got home. But like everyone else, she walked out of the house and smiled at the host before leaving.

She walked home, hoping Papa would not be there. When she approached her house, she noticed his car in the driveway. Fuck.

Stepping up to the door way, she got out her key and slowly unlocked the door, cringing when it creeked. She internally cursed herself when she saw him watching tv, waiting for her.

"WHERE WERE YOU, YOU LITTLE BITCH?!" He screamed, stomping over to her to grip her shirt. All she could do was gulp, and accept her incoming punishment.


	7. Comfort and a realization

Sore. That's the only way Natsuki could describe how she felt. Papa had gotten her good yesterday. Her whole entire body was now covered in bruises. She had to cover them with some foundation she found in the medicine cabinet. Hopefully nothing was too damaged.

Getting ready for school was hell, her whole body ached just from putting on her uniform. She wished she could stay home and rest, but Papa would only hurt her even more if she asked.

Due to her injuries, she had walked to school quite slow, and ended up being a few minutes late. Everyone was already in class by the time she got there. She rushed over to her locker as fast as could go considering her situation, and limped into class.

A few people had turned their heads to look at her as she hobbled in, especially since she was usually always early. Her teacher glared in her direction, but then returned to writing something on the board.

Natsuki tried her best to look normal as she walked over to her desk, even though her body was screaming in pain.

She sat down next to Yuri and Sayori, ignoring their questioning glances.

"Are you alright, Natsuki?" Yuri leaned over and whispered into the pink haired girl's ear after she sat down. She had noticed how funny the smaller girl was walking and acting, and it was concerned her.

Natsuki stiffened up when she felt the breath on her ear and looked away. "U-Uh yeah! Why wouldn't I be?"

Yuri was still suspicious, but decided to leave it alone for now. She'd try to ask her again later, when class ended.

————

The rest of the class, and the ones after that were spent by Natsuki desperately waiting for lunch. Even if she had nothing to eat, it was so much better than suffering in class. She even got to sit with her friends, which usually kind of helped her ignore the pain shooting through every single nerve.

Suddenly the bell rung, answering her prayers. She stood up from her desk carefully and slowly, making sure not to injury anything further.

Natsuki wobbled to her home room classroom, where they ate lunch everyday. Sayori and Yuri were already waiting for her there, smiling when they saw her walk in. She smiled back and went towards the desk they had saved her a seat at.

"Hey Nat!" Sayori exclaimed. Yuri noted the way Natsuki slightly cringed at the raised voice in her head.

"H-Hi." Natsuki squeaked as she sat down. Something was definitely off today, and Yuri was determined to find out.

The purple haired girl suddenly stood up in the middle of a conversation. "I-I need to use the restroom." She looked towards Natsuki, who was staring down at the desk. "Can you come with me, Nat?"

Natsuki blushed at the nickname and looked up. "S-Sure."

The two walked down the empty hallways and to the bathroom in silence. Natsuki was confused, to say the least. _"Couldn't she just have gone by herself?"_ she thought, but they were interrupted by Yuri pushing her into a stall and locking the door.

"Hey! What are you doing Yuri?"

"What's going on with you? You've been acting s-strange today." Yuri said, looking down at her shoes. Now that she had actually put her plan into action, she was kind of regretting it. This stall wasn't very big, and the two were a little too close for comfort.

Natsuki blushed and looked anywhere but at the girl she was cramped in here with. "Nothing is going on, dummy. Why do you ask?"

Yuri sighed and looked the smaller girl in the eyes, "I'm not d-dumb Natsuki. I can tell something's wrong. In fact, we're not leaving u-until you tell me."

Natsuki's eyes began filling up with tears. No one knew what went on at home with Papa, not even Sayori. Lots of people have noticed her bruises before, but no one ever said anything. No one seemed to care, execept Yuri. She threw herself into the taller girl's arms, practically suffocating her. Yuri didn't care though, she just hugged the girl back and ran her fingers through her pink hair.

Natsuki continued to sob in the girls arms. After a while, she pulled away and saw the big wet spot on her jacket.

"S-Sorry for getting your blazer dirty." She sniffled, wiping the few tears left from her eyes. Yuri only smiled and hugged the girl once again. Natsuki's face was burning, but she ignored it. She wished she could stay in Yuri's embrace for the rest of her life and ignore the rest of the world.

When Natsuki was finally finished crying, they stood in the stall in an awkward silence for a while, just enjoying each other's presence. Soon, the bell would ring and they would have to return to reality.

"So, do you wanna tell me what's going on now?" The purple haired girl asked. She had taken off her blazer a few minutes ago, due to it being wet, and was left only in her button up.

"I-I-I don't know. I want t-to, b-but h-he'll..."Natsuki began to sniffle again, terrible memories coming back to her. Yuri took the girl's hand into her own, trying her best to calm her down. She ran her thumb over the back of her frail hand and comforted her.

"It's okay," She smiled. The tiny girl looked up into her friend's purple eyes and blushed. "You don't have to tell me yet if you're not comfortable. Just know I'm always here for you."

Natsuki lightly chuckled as Yuri wiped away her tears with a wad of toilet paper. "Thank you, Yuri." She spoke, making sure to make eye contact. Yuri's shy nature returned at this and she averted her gaze.

"O-Of course. We should probably get back though, before Sayori calls the cops."

Natsuki softly laughed, "Yeah, let's go."

Natsuki's eyes were quite puffy now, so before heading out of the bathroom, Yuri patted them with some cold water on a paper towel. Natsuki was trying her best to hide her blush, but ultimately failed. The taller girl didn't seem to notice though, and if she did notice she just ignored it. They walked out of the bathroom, hands linked.

————

The rest of the day had passed very slowly, but now it was finally club time. Natsuki was usually one of the first people to arrive at the classroom, but today she was last. She walked in with an awkward smile as she tried to conceal her limp.

Yuri gave a shy wave when she saw the pink haired girl walk in. Even if she didn't know exactly what was happening with her, she figured it was something going on at home. She always flinched if someone raised their voice, rarely had a lunch packed from home or money to buy one, and often came to school with unexplained bruises. "Wait..."

_"Is Natsuki being... abused?"_ Yuri gulped, looking towards where the pink haired girl was standing. Earlier, Yuri had noticed her limping, but didn't think anything of it so she brushed it off. But now, everything was coming together. How skinny the girl was, her defensive attitude, everything just made sense.

Yuri had no idea what to do. She never had to deal with something like this, but she decided from now on she'd do her best to protect the girl. Natsuki meant a lot to her, and she'd be damned if anything super bad were to happen.

Swallowing her doubts, she marched towards the small girl.

"Hey, Natsuki?"

"Yes, Yuri?" Natsuki replied, a soft smile on her face.

"I know what's going on." Yuri began to regret her desicion. What if she was wrong? What if she was just over thinking it? _"No! I need to do this for Natsuki."_

Natsuki's smile dropped at this, and her face paled. "W-W-What do you mean? Haha." She was now avoiding eye contact, looking over to the other side of the room.

"Natsuki." Yuri deadpanned. She gently grabbed her chin and turned her face back towards hers to stare her in the eyes. "I know."

She was now sweating, and looked kind of dizzy. "We're going to the bathroom, Monika!" Natsuki yelled to their club president, not even waiting for a response before grabbing Yuri's wrist and dragging her into the hallway.

"Natsuki..." The small girl was standing against a a wall, eyes brimming with tears. How could anyone find out? She had been so careful. Papa was going to be so mad.

"P-P-Please don't tell anyone!" Not caring anymore, she let the tears fall. Yuri looked at her friend and frowned, bringing her into a gentle and caring hug.

They stayed there like that for a while, alone and embracing each other for the second time today.

"I don't want you to stay there, Natsuki. You're in serious danger." Yuri runs her fingers through her pink hair, noting how soft it was. Natsuki pulls away to look her in the eyes.

"Trust me, I don't want to either. B-But I have no where else to go, a-and I'm not eighteen yet so I can't move out."

Yuri's purple eyes were full of anger, anger towards Natsuki's father. She couldn't believe someone would hurt this sweet girl. Sighing, she brought a hand up to Natsuki's face to wipe the few stray tears. Natsuki looked up at her with sad eyes.

"You can come to my house whenever you need to. Got it?" The purple haired girl's hand was now at her side, playing with her shirt out of nervousness. She gulped, waiting for Natsuki's reply, but it never came. Instead, the girl wrapped her in a giant hug, once again crying into her chest. Yuri's face immediately grew a crimson blush and she reciprocated the hug.

"Thank you, Yuri." Natsuki muttered, her face still snuggled up against Yuri. The taller girl smiled at this and rubbed her back with one hand.

"Of course."

For the rest of the day, they didn't talk about Natsuki's home life, or what exactly her father did to her. Frankly, Yuri didn't want to know. The only thing she wanted was for the girl to be safe. For that, she'd do _anything._

————

When both the girls got home, Yuri texted Natsuki and suggested that she spend the weekend over at her house. She of course agreed, but this time she would actually ask Papa. Hopefully she could find a time where he was sober. That way, he'd probably say yes.

The two friends texted for an hour or two, a fluttering feeling remaining in Natsuki's heart and stomach the whole time. She had grown to like this feeling, as it always came when she was around Yuri. She noticed it only happened around Yuri though, and not with anyone else. She also noticed how much she blushed around Yuri and ho— wait.

Natsuki's eyes widened and her palms began to sweat. _"N-No, it c-can't be. Do I... like...?"_ The reason she acted so weird around Yuri was because... she liked her. And she had been ignoring the feeling this whole time. Natsuki liked another girl. If Papa found out, he'd be furious.

Confused, she stuffed her head into her pillow, wanting to scream. There was nothing wrong with being gay, but she had never expected to be gay herself. It all made sense now though— why her heart beat so unsteadily around the girl, why her cheeks always felt so hot when she got close, the butterflies she always got around her. She just hadn't realized it yet. But now that she had, what did it mean? How would she face the girl tomorrow, or the days after that? Now that she knew how she felt towards Yuri, how was she supposed to just go around her normally?

She sighed and texted Yuri that she had to go. _"How didn't I see this before?"_

Natsuki decided to go to sleep, maybe that would help her calm down. That was easier said than done, because thoughts of the purple haired girl— her crush, invaded her mind, just like always.

Eventually, she was able to fall asleep. That night, she slept the worst she had in months.


	8. A discovery

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big TW for Self Harm!! Maybe don’t read this chapter if that will trigger you in any way. Enjoy!

Natsuki’s heart was beating heavily in her chest. It was friday, only a day before she was going to spend the whole weekend with Yuri. _Yuri_ , whom she had a crush on. Right now it was lunch time, and Natsuki was sitting in a bathroom stall, hiding from the purple haired girl. She had been somewhat avoiding her all day, and whenever she did try to talk to her, her face would completely burn up and she would freak out. She had told Yuri that she just was catching a fever, the same excuse that she had been telling herself for weeks.

Flushes and the sound of running water were starting to drive her crazy. She had been hiding here almost all of lunch. Natsuki had fled class, making sure Yuri wouldn't see her in the hallways. Now, she was huddled up on a school toilet, hiding from her crush. How pathetic can you get?

She had heard the sound of the bathroom door opening, but thought nothing of it. People were coming in and out of it all lunch. It is a bathroom, after all.

"Natsuki... are you in here?" A soft voice spoke, one she recognized to be Yuri's. " _Great. Just my luck."_

The pink haired girl remained silent at first, not really wanting to face the girl. Her feelings were still so new and strange to her, and if Yuri found out her life would be over. But the purple haired girl was persistent, and kept calling her name. Natsuki stood up from the toilet, in defeat. It was too late anyway, Yuri already knew she was in there. She unlocked the stall and stepped out in front of her friend.

"Ah- There you are! Sayori and I were w-worried!" Lately, Yuri's stutter had been getting better, which made Natsuki smile. It was sweet how she clearly felt more comfortable around her now. Maybe she was overthinking it though, because she was stuttering less around the rest of the club too.

"Haha, sorry."

"Are you alright?" Yuri asked, face full of concern. This immediately made her blush, and she hated herself for it.

Natsuki hid her flushed cheeks by turning around and washing her hands. "Of course, why wouldn't I be?"

"A-Ah, I don't k-know. You seem kind of... distant today."

Natsuki internally chuckled, " _Of course I'm being distant, I have a freaking crush on you!!"_

That's what she wanted to say, but instead she only shrugged. "I don't know what you're talking about."

The purple haired girl finally decided to just leave it alone. Natsuki wouldn't spill, and she knew that. There's was no point in trying to force information out of her, anyways. She didn't want to make the girl uncomfortable, or pressured to tell her anything.

Yuri sighed, looking down towards the floor. It seemed the more she tried to be nice to the girl lately, the more she tried to push her away. She didn't know why the pink haired girl was avoiding her, but she knew she had probably done something wrong. She always does.

"I-I'm gonna go back to lunch. B-Bye." Yuri fought back tears, rushing out of the bathroom. Everyone always pushed her away, and she had no idea what she was doing wrong.

After leaving the bathroom, she made it priority to find a secluded spot in the school. The urge was growing too strong. Yuri checked to make sure no one was around before pulling out her pocket knife. This one featured a pretty sharp blade, and it's handle was chrome. Her breath hitched as the cold blade met her skin.

————

Meanwhile, Natsuki was left alone in the bathroom feeling guilty. She had made Yuri run away. _"Great job, stupid!"_

Mentally beating herself up, she leaned against the cold bathroom wall. She was getting tired of being in here. Maybe she should go find Yuri and apologize.

"I can't let my stupid crush get in the way of our friendship." Natsuki whispered to herself, setting out to locate the purple haired girl. The hallways were significantly empty right now, as it was lunch period. Everyone was either in the cafeteria or classrooms.

Her school shoes clacked against the floor tiles as she walked down the hallways. For some reason, it seemed kind of... ominous. Today was a gloomy day, and it had been raining all day long, so it was kind of dark. There was also a unwanted pit in her stomach, almost if something and was going to happen.

The pink haired girl continued to walk down the empty hallways, when she heard a noise. " _What is that?_ " She tried to listen closer. The noise seemed to be coming from around the corner.

Now that she was paying attention, it kind of sounded like... someone was in pain? Her face dropped and her heart beat began to fasten. _"Is someone hurt?"_

The noise happened again, this time much louder. That confirmed that it was indeed the sound of someone in pain. It sounded like they were sucking air in through their teeth. Curiosity and concern getting the better of her, the small girl decided she wanted to look around the corner. Her brain was telling her no— but she felt as if she had to. What if they needed help?

She pushed down her unease and poked her head around the corner, eyes widening at the sight. It was Yuri, standing against a locker with a _knife_ against her arm.

"W-What the fuck?!" She unintentionally shouted. The knife dropped from Yuri's hand, her face darkening. She slowly turned her head towards where the other girl was standing.

"I-I, U-Uh..."

The pit in Natsuki's stomach grew stronger, and she felt like she had to puke. She looked down at Yuri's arm. It was covered in hundreds of cuts. Some were old and faded, and some were _fresh_.

"Yuri. W-What were you doing?"

She already knew the answer. Yuri was _cutting_ herself.

"I- was just u-uh... You w-weren't s-supposed to see." Yuri stuttered, tears threatening to fall. Her sleeve was still rolled up, and Natsuki had a clear view of all of her scars. There were so many, like she had been doing this for years.

The smaller girl couldn't say anything. She didn't know what to say. Instead, she gently grabbed Yuri's clean wrist and pulled her towards the bathroom. She immediately went to work, wetting a paper towel and placing it on the cuts. Unfortunately she didn't have her first aid kit today, but this would have to do.

Natsuki gently patted the blood off of her friends arm. Unlike the first aid kit, she did happen to have some bandages. She had stolen them from the nurses office a week ago, when she had some bad injuries from Papa.

Making sure to be extra careful, she wrapped the bandages around the taller girl's arm. Yuri looked down at the girl, tears still in her eyes. She looked so focused— so careful as she took care of her wounds.

When Natsuki finished patching Yuri up, she gave her a big, tight hug. "W-Why do you do this to yourself, Yuri?"

"I-I-I don't know."

"You could get seriously hurt! Do you even know how much I care about you? What would happen if you bled out, huh? Do you know how I would feel?!" The pink haired girl shouted. She was gripping Yuri tighter now, like she was afraid to let go. Her voice was shaky from holding back tears.

"N-Natsuki..." Yuri didn't know what to say. Natsuki had never been this affectionate before, especially towards her.

Natsuki was now full on crying into her friends chest. Right now, she had forgotten all about her feelings for the girl. She just wanted to help her. "P-Promise me you'll try not to anymore."'

Yuri didn't even know if that was possible. She did it almost everyday. It had pretty much become a part of life by now, but seeing the girl in her arms made her want to try better.

She nodded against the girl in her arms and softly whispered, "I-I’ll try."

The two girls stood alone in the bathroom, embracing each other for what seemed like eternity. 


	9. A confession

The weekend had finally come, and Natsuki couldn't be more excited. In fact, she was so excited she could barely even sleep last night. Just the thought of getting to spend the whole weekend with Yuri made her incredibly happy. She had asked Papa a couple days ago if she could stay over at a friends, and thankfully he said yes. He was going to be out of town for a while, anyways.

Natsuki had woken up super early to get ready today. She took an extra long shower and combed her hair especially thoroughly. She had even an additional ribbon to her hair. It was purple, and shaped like a bow. Hopefully Yuri would like it.

The pink haired girl set off towards Yuri's house, duffel bag in hand. Her thoughts were consumed with Yuri, and her only. Since yesterday, she had been learning to just accept her crush on Yuri. Ever since she found out about the girls self harm issues, she wanted to be there for her, and she wouldn't let her crush on her get in the way of that. Natsuki still didn't know exactly why Yuri cut herself, but it didn't really matter to her— as long as she stopped.

The walk to her house seemed to last forever, but she finally arrived.

"Welcome Natsuki." Yuri smiled, stepping out of the way to let her in. The pink haired girl ignored the thumping of her heart and returned the smile, letting herself in. She went upstairs and set her things in Yuri's room, where she left them last time.

When she was finished, she returned back downstairs to converse with her friend. "So, how are you, Yuri?"

"Oh, I am well, thank you. How are you?"

Natsuki slightly rolled her eyes. Yuri was clearly avoiding the question. She decided to press the girl further. "I mean, how are _you_ doing? You know, with the... er... cutting?"

She hated to be so nosy, but she had to make sure Yuri would stop. It wasn't healthy, and she could get seriously hurt if she didn't.

"O-Oh. I haven't done it since yesterday, if that's what you were asking." Yuri shyly replied as she stared down at the couch.

"That's good." The small girl internally sighed in relief. "Since I didn't get to clean them good yesterday, can I do it now? You have bandages and stuff, right?" Natsuki asked, already standing up from the sofa to go towards the bathroom.

Yuri's face burned up at this, and she shot up from the couch frantically. "O-Oh, no! It's f-fine! I can clean them."

"Yuri, please? I want to help you. I care about you a lot, you know."

She really didn't want her to, but seeing the pink haired girl frown was enough to convince her. Plus, she would give anything to see Natsuki all soft like this, which wasn't very often. Yuri shyly nodded in response, to which Natsuki let out a big grin at. She pushed the taller girl up the stairs and into the large bathroom to fix her up.

Natsuki rummaged through her friends cabinets, looking for some basic first aid supplies. She ended up with some hydrogen peroxide to clean the wounds, and some cream to put on them to prevent irration. She also grabbed some bandages, which she would use to protect the cuts from bacteria.

"This is gonna hurt, okay?" The smaller of the two reassured, grabbing her arm. Yuri nervously nodded her head, shutting her eyes to prepare for impact. Natsuki soaked a cotton pad with hydrogen peroxide and gently placed it on her friend's arm. Being this close to her crush made the world seem frozen, and kind of flustered her, but she tried to ignore it and continued cleaning the girl's arm. After cleaning the wounds, she put some of the cream on them and wrapped her arm with the bandages. When she was finally done, she leaned into to give her friend a hug.

"W-W-What's this for?" Yuri stuttered, wrapping her arms around Natsuki in return.

"I-I dunno. I just f-felt like it." Natsuki's face was burning up, and her heart was beating 100 miles per hour. She wanted to stay in Yuri's arms forever, to be with her forever. Her crush on the girl grew everyday, and was starting to become unbearable. Right now, all she wanted to do was lean in and kiss Yuri's beautiful face.

Yuri lightly chuckled, holding the girl in her arms closer to her. Natsuki could feel Yuri's heart beating. It was fast, and only made hers beat faster. Her palms were begging to sweat, and she was getting even more nervous. She told herself she wouldn't let her crush get in the way of their friendship, but that was so much easier said than done. Just being in Yuri's embrace drove her crazy. She wanted more, needed more.

Natsuki leaned back from the hug, leaving Yuri confused. Her confusion, though, was soon replaced with Natsuki's soft lips on hers. Natsuki would definitely immensely regret that in a minute, but right now she just wanted to enjoy it.

Yuri was a little shocked at first, definitely not expecting that, but slowly kissed back. Their lips tangled together, full of bottled up emotions. Yuri brought her hand up to gently cup Natsuki's face, rubbing her thumb against the girls cheeks in the process. Natsuki smiled into the kiss and wrapped her arms around the taller girls waist, having to stand on her tippy toes. 

It was a small and short kiss, but it was full of affection and seemed to last forever. Natsuki was the first to pull away, her face bright red. Her eyes widened when she realized what she did.

"U-Um..." Yuri muttered, suprised by what they had just done. Her hand lingered where the other girls lips had just been. Natsuki's face shrunk even further, and tears began to form in her eyes.

"Oh my god- I am s-so sorry... I-" She freaked out, moving further away from the purple haired girl. She looked like she was going to be sick.

"Hey, it's okay." Yuri tried to calm her down, but Natsuki wasn't listening. She was too busy beating herself up inside. " _How could you do that? You know Yuri doesn't like you, fuckin dumbass!"_

Meanwhile, Yuri was left confused. Natsuki had just kissed her...? Her _best friend_ had just kissed her. She didn't hate it, it was the exact opposite, actually. Yuri had loved the kiss, and that just confused her even further. Sure, she had thought about liking the pink haired girl before, after all, she was cute and super sweet when you got to know her. She also had had some rather _strange_ thoughts about the girl before, but that could easily be explained by her sexuality. But now that she was thinking about it, maybe she did like Natsuki?

Her heart always went crazy around her, and she often felt dizzy or got butterflys. This was quite normal for her though, being a nervous person already. Thinking about it more clearly gave her an answer though— she _definitely_ liked her.

Natsuki was still freaking out on the other side of the bathroom, having moved away from her. She wouldn't listen no matter what Yuri said, so she did the only thing she knew would work.

Yuri strutted up to Natsuki and once again placed her lips on hers. Natsuki responded back to the kiss, immediately calming down. The two stayed in the silence of each other's company, lips meeting for a couple minutes, until they had to pull away for air.

"Yuri..." Natsuki blushed, staring her in the eyes. Yuri stared back, still in a daze.

"S-Sorry. You just wouldn't listen to me."

"Oh my god! I kissed you! I'm so sorry. I-"

"Natsuki. It's okay. I-I kinda... liked it..." Yuri said, avoiding the smaller girls gaze at all cost. Her eyes were staring at the the ground, and she was twirling a section of her hair between her fingers.

Natsuki looked up in shock. Her eyes were wide, and her cheeks were as bright red as a tomato. "W-What?"

"I... liked it. A lot, actually. I like you, Natsuki." Yuri squeaked, the words barely leaving her mouth. They were almost a whisper, but it was loud enough for Natsuki to hear. Tears threatened to fall from her pink eyes as she stared up at her crush, who just said she returned her feelings.

"You... do?"

"I do." Yuri stated, completely confident in her answer. She looked up to meet Natsuki's gaze, who now had a single tear falling from her eye. Yuri brought her hand up to wipe the tear from her tiny face, and then once again pulled her into a tight embrace.

"I like you too. A lot." Natsuki giggled, snuggled in Yuri's arms. Natsuki continued to cry a little, the other girl comforting her the whole time.

After the exchange, the girls had went back down stairs to eat something. It was around dinner time, so Yuri insisted she cook for them. The pink haired girl had watched her every move, and looked away every time she caught her.

They both sat down across from each other at Yuri's large dining table. The tension in the air was immense, as they had just basically made out with each other. They ate in silence, occasionally sneaking glances at each other in between bites.

Yuri had cooked a simple curry for dinner, but to Natsuki it was the most delicious thing in the world. Maybe it was the fact that she hadn't ate an actual meal in a while, or because it was her crush had made it.

The fact that she had just kissed and confessed to her hadn't really set in yet. She was still in shock, and was still processing the whole situation. Yuri probably was too though, which made her feel a little better. They hadn't talked much since it happened. Natsuki looked across the table to see Yuri staring down at her plate, lost in a trance. She smiled. _"So cute."_

And that's when another thought hit her— _what were they_? I mean, both of them had just confessed, and kissed, so what did that make them? Were they dating? Or were they still friends? Sitting here asking herself wouldn't help, so Natsuki decided to ask the girl in question. What's the worst that can happen?

_"Well, she could hard core reject you, or tell you she's not ready for a relationship or something."_

The girl pushed away her pessimistic thoughts, setting the fork in her hands down. She looked towards Yuri, who was now eating. She decided to just rip it off like a band aid.

"Umm, Yuri. What are... we?"

Yuri practically choked on her food at the question, setting her fork down immediately and coughing. "W-What?"

"What are we? Since we... you know." She asked again, eyes full of hope.

Yuri stared at the cute girl in front of her. Gulping, she placed her hands on her lap and looked down. "W-Well... I'd really like to be your g-girlfriend. I-If you want to, of course!" Yuri spit out quickly. She couldn't take it back now.

"Really?" Natsuki asked, a big goofy smile taking over her face. She got up from her chair and went around the table to where Yuri was sitting, intertwining her hands in hers.

Yuri looked up to the girl and blushed, shyly nodding. Natsuku smiled even harder, which she didn't know was possible right now, and flung herself into Yuri's arms.

"Of course I want to be your girlfriend, silly."

————

The rest of the evening was spent with the two new lovers doing normal sleepover things. They watched movies, gave each other makeovers, whatever you could think of. Of course, the night hadn't passed without a few kisses being exchanged here and there.

It was now bed time, and Yuri asked if Natsuki would spend the night in her room. She promised they'd _only_ be sleeping, nothing fishy. Natsuki agreed of course, wanting to spend as much time with her girlfriend as possible, even if it was just sleeping.

It was a little awkward being alone with Yuri in her room at first. She had done it before, sure, but they weren't dating then. Now that they were, it made things a little different.

The two girls laid in bed, facing away from each other. Natsuki was laying extra close to the wall, afraid to touch the girl.

The moon shone through Yuri's purple blinds, setting a beautiful light upon the room. She wondered how Yuri would look in this lighting.

She hesitantly turned around, facing the purple haired girl. Her eyes were closed, so she was probably sleeping. She looked so peaceful as her chest slowly moved up and down. Just as she had thought, she looked absolutely beautiful under the moonlight. The moon cast a beautiful light on the girl, almost making her look like an angel. She sighed, snuggling closer to her. Natsuki wrapped her arms around her girlfriend, resting her head in the crook of her neck. Hopefully Yuri wouldn't mind.

To think, the last time she was in Yuri's bed, she was catching a case of the love bug for her. But here she was again, them now officially together. It was a crazy thought. Last time she was here, she hadn't even thought of the possibility of having a crush on her.

The smaller girl let out a small giggle, hugging the girl in her arms tighter. Now that she had her, she would never let go. Natsuki placed a small kiss on her girlfriend's forehead before closing her eyes, drifting to sleep herself.


End file.
